The meeting had been a success.  Everyone who'd shown up had 
joined, increasing ACROSS' personnel number from two to ten.  Though, 
in most of their opinions, Iwata's presense was more annoying than 
anything.
	Xenon couldn't blame them.  Iwata Norikuni was worse than what 
Xenon had expected out of Excel when she'd first joined ACROSS.  Which 
was pretty bad.  Iwata pestered the women, didn't really listen to 
orders, got into fights with Toru, and made stupid comments that forced 
Xenon to hold back a brain reintegrating beam that he'd almost launched 
at the annoying pest.
	A few warnings would likely be given to Iwata before the week... 
no, the DAY was up.  If he didn't shape up after that, he would be 
unofficially relegated to 'human shield'.
	Meanwhile, Shioji had been busy working on a new type of body 
armor he wanted everyone to wear when in the field.  It looked like a 
skin-tight totally revealing bodysuit and it was only in it's prototype 
phase, but he swore that the final product would be well worth the 
effort.
	Xenon wasn't absolutely positive, but the way Shioji came out 
with 'his' scientific advancements, it was almost as if he was reading 
from a book or getting outside aid.  Neither Roppon, nor Matsu knew how 
much of Shioji's inventions worked, and the two android girls had 
sensors that were significantly advanced enough to give him advice on 
masturbation techniques.  Not that... he'd... ever.... tried their 
advice out.
	In any case, he was suspicious of Shioji's true loyalty.  If he 
was just using ACROSS as a test subject for unstable weapons and armor, 
then it might be necessary to order a loyalty neurochip.
	Xenon reclined and pondered again, for the tenth time that week, 
who that sorceress had been.  He hadn't even heard anything about her, 
but from what the Evil, Inc. representative had said in passing, she 
should have been out there doing lots of nasty things in the public
spotlight, like screwing little girls and releasing sarin gas in the 
subway.

	Mr. Kabapu smiled as he smoked his cigar.  Ever since he'd gained 
control of the district councils for all of Tokyo, he'd begun his great 
plan to protect all of Tokyo from harm.  After all, films and anime had 
pretty much made Tokyo into a matchstick city, ready to be devastated 
at a moment's notice.  And while those were fiction, he loved Tokyo 
dearly.  He wouldn't allow it to suffer such a fate.
	He stroked his boomerang-shaped mustache as he considered how 
much had been sacrificed already for the sake of his mission.  Eight 
council members were dead of 'accidents', three were dead from actual 
accidents, and six had been paid to leave on a lifetime vacation.  
Those who'd remained were either hard-working and honest men or were  
at least upstanding when on duty.
	He himself had granted himself the position of Chief of City 
Security.  It was lower than the Mayor by technical terms, but in 
truth, Kabapu had replaced the mayor with someone loyal to him, so he 
was, in fact, at a higher rank than the mayor.  Besides, being Mayor 
would bring too much suspicion and responsibility on him.  He was 
considered a great man by his friends, but he was getting on in the 
years.
	The phone rang.  He reached over and plucked it from it's cradle.
	"Kabapu." he said.
	"Sensei, it's nice to hear that you're still in good health." 
came the voice of his ace student, Shioji Gojo.
	"Shioji, it's nice to hear from you as well." Kabapu responded.
	"I've been working on those projects like you'd requested.  I've 
got an ample base of test subjects, but I'm also under someone else's 
employment." Shioji told Kabapu.
	"Someone else?" Kabapu inquired, his distaste evident in his 
voice.
	"A secret society seeking power.  Currently, they don't pose too 
much of a threat to the city.  In fact, they seem to be seeking power 
of a different kind than the ones that you faced." Shioji answered.
	Kabapu hummed disapprovingly.
	"They're a good source of expendable test subjects, I assure you.  
In any case, if they turn out to be too much for you to handle, I can 
always botch an 'upgrade' and then take off." Shioji told his mentor.
	"Be careful, Shioji.  Not even the best and brightest can always 
escape when cornered." Kabapu warned.
	"Don't worry.  I've taken precautions." Shioji answered.
	"Good luck, then." Kabapu said.
	"By the way, I heard the Prime Minister is funding a tournament.  
Does it have to do with... Shang Tsung?" Shioji inquired.
	"Yes.  This is the final tournament before Raiden can seal off 
our dimension from Shao Khan.  I'm certain that Shang Tsung will not 
pull any punches with the Mortal Kombat tournament this time, 
especially after the beatings Goro took from Lemon during the last two 
tournaments." Kabapu responded.
	"Goro's probably still going to be their trump card." Shioji 
commented, "So why worry?"
	"Because Lemon passed away two months ago." Kabapu answered.
	Shioji's yelp of panic and surprise was so loud that Kabapu had 
to pull the phone away from his ear.
	"You can't be serious!  She's the best fighter that the 
Jokuketsuzoku village has produced in over a hundred years!  And she 
was born a hundred and six years ago!" Shioji said with panic in his 
voice.
	Kabapu knew his student had a right to panic, but he had to calm 
Shioji, "This is why the Prime Minister started this tournament.  With 
the tournament still a year away, he can track down those with superior 
potential and begin extensive training.  If we're lucky, someone truly 
outstanding will show themselves..."

	Ranma sneezed abruptly.  He sniffled and wondered if someone was 
talking about him.
	Cerl thought about the arrangement of the semi-finals as the 
first match was finally called to start.  It wasn't that uncommon for 
tournaments to do something like that after the qualifiers, but before 
the semi-finals?  The most unpleasant surprise was that she and Ranma 
were going to be battling in the second fight.
	Jun and Yuki were in the first match.  Cerl watched with 
interested as the tall, dark and beautiful wrestler entered the ring 
and waved to the cheering crowds.  Yuki entered in a less grandoise 
fashion, simply jumping into the ring and leaning against her corner 
post, waiting for the bell to start the match.
	Neither had anything to say to the other, seeing as neither knew 
each other prior to the tournament.  Though the ring was silent before 
the match, the waiting area wasn't.
	"Cerl, I need to talk with you." Ranma spoke up.
	Cerl turned her attention from the ring to Ranma, "Yeah?"
	"I'd like an answer to that question." Ranma declared.
	Cerl had an answer for him, but it wasn't one that he wanted to 
hear.  However, she didn't want to allude to the answer prior to the 
match.
	"I can't tell you my answer, Ranma.  If I tell you good news, 
you'll get distracted with thoughts on how you can't hurt me.  If I 
tell you bad news, you'll be distracted with questions.  One way or the 
other, you won't be fighting at your best.  But I promise you that when 
the match is over, you'll have your answer." Cerl told him in a careful 
tone.
	"I'd like to know now." Ranma pressed, the determination in his 
voice making it clear that he wouldn't let up if she didn't answer.
	Cerl sighed and looked away, "We can't.  I'm sorry, but we just 
can't.  You're a nice guy, Ranma.  But for it to work, you'd have to 
make the most sacrifices.  And it's not supposed to work like that."
	Ranma felt a mixed of confusing emotions.  Relief that he'd 
finally gotten an answer, anger and sorrow that she didn't feel the 
same way, and to some degree, humor that he hadn't figured it all out 
sooner.  Cerl had done her level best to focus on Akane or Ihadurca 
rather than answer his question and that was probably the clearest sign 
ever.  Still, he couldn't help but feel she hadn't given him an honest 
chance.
	Their attention turned to the ring as the bell sounded.  Yuki 
launched her Ice Wave technique, but Jun leapt over it.  Yuki jumped up 
after her, but as she punched at a now-smiling Jun, she quickly 
realized the mistake in her strategy.  Being a wrestler, Jun was an 
expert at close combat.
	Jun caught Yuki's fist and swung the kunoichi above her head 
before grabbing onto Yuki's throat and right thigh from below.  As they 
hit the mat, Yuki's body was slammed across Jun's powerful back, 
causing the kunoichi's lungs to burn as they were forcefully squeezed.
	From the sidelines, Yuka winced with sympathy.  Jun's Kubota 
Kracker was VERY painful.  Most people wouldn't believe it, but the 
technique had a good chance of knocking out just about anyone.
	Jun let Yuki go and the kunoichi fell to the mat, coughing and 
clutching her throat as she tried to get her lungs to work properly.  
Yuki managed to regain her feet twenty seconds later, but from the way 
she was struggling just to maintain balance, it was clear that most of 
her strength had been sapped by Jun's attack.
	"You'll pay for that!" Yuki puffed out, flaring with a cold aura.
	"Sorry, but it's my favorite technique." Jun apologized to the 
kunoichi as she gathered her own attack, green lightning crackling 
around her.
	"ICE GEYSER!" Yuki called out, unleashing a powerful ice wave.
	"THUNDER CREST!" Jun answered, released her lightning attack.
	The ice and lightning battled for dominance for brief seconds 
before the lightning arced back over the ice to electrocute Yuki while 
Jun leapt out of the way of the Ice Geyser.
	Yuki flopped to the mat, twitching before the med-teams managed 
to haul her onto a stretcher.
	"THE WINNAH!  JUN KUBOTA!"

	Medusa growled as she finished bandaging her snake.  She hated 
wearing the medical robe she was forced to put on, as it was nowhere 
near as comfortable as her snake.  But, until it got over it's 
injuries, her precious snake would be unable to act as clothing.  It 
would take days for her poor pet to heal enough for that.
	"It would seem that you made a miscalculation."
	Medusa glared up at the man who'd entered her hotel room.  
Copycat Ken sneered back.
	"What do you want?" Medusa demanded, "And how did you get in 
here?"
	"I'll answer the second part first, seeing as you obviously don't 
know.  I simply transformed into a copy of you and ask them to give me 
another card key because I'd lost mine." Ken answered in haughty tone, 
before looking at Medusa with a strange gleam in his eyes.
	Medusa wasn't quite sure what that gleam was.  It look similar to 
the ones she normally got, but there was something distinctly different 
about it.
	"How about we team up and get back at those fighters who 
embarrassed us?" Copycat Ken inquired.
	Medusa arched an eyebrow, "What did you have in mind?"
	Copycat Ken grinned maliciously.

	The ice had finally been melted and mopped off the mat when the 
announcers called for the second match.  Cerl wasn't feeling too 
confident about the fight.  She knew that she and Ranma were on 
different levels.  After all, Ranma had finished his Kachuu Tenshin 
Amiguriken training in just four tries.  She herself had only managed 
it on her twentieth.
	Not to mention, while her father had been teaching her new 
techniques from his more evolved school, she hadn't managed any of 
them.  Ranma, on the other hand, knew pretty much all Genma would teach 
him.
	Even with her own patented chaotic style, she was fairly certain 
she couldn't beat Ranma.  Not without pulling out her secret and it 
wasn't something she really wanted to use in a tournament, let alone 
against a friend.
	The bell sounded.  Ranma didn't move.  Cerl was hesistant to.  
Finally, she decided to just try her best and charged.  Ranma mirrored 
her charge.  They both threw rapid punches and kicks, but Cerl felt 
frustration as Ranma only stopped her attacks with his own.  He wasn't 
even counter-attacking.
	Anger flared within her.
	Cerl spoke up, "Ranma, I know I'm not as good as you, I know you 
don't really want to fight me because of what I said, but the least you 
could do is-" Cerl stopped her attack and shoulder-slammed Ranma, "-
STOP PATRONIZING ME!"
	Ranma flipped backwards and landed on his feet.  He rubbed his 
chest and then looked at Cerl, who pointed accusingly at him, "My 
father I could understand not wanting to hurt me, because he's more 
than just a teacher to me.  Good parents don't go out of their way to 
deliberately hurt their children.  But you, Ranma, should know that as 
a martial artist, I won't stand for anything less than your best in a 
tournament match!"
	"If you're going to fight me, do it without worrying about 
hurting me or my feelings, dammit!" Cerl growled, charging Ranma again.
	Ranma sighed, "You want my best?  Fine."
	Cerl punched at Ranma, but found that she was punching at air.  
She spun around, looking for Ranma, even glancing towards the ceiling, 
but she couldn't find Ranma anywhere.  She blinked, just before she 
felt a kick to her back that sent her sprawling forward.
	She turned but saw no one.  Another glance around revealed 
nothing.  Either Ranma had learned how to turn invisible or he was 
standing behind her with her even noticing.  She kicked backwards, but 
again, struck nothing.
	She closed her eyes and focused on sensing Ranma.  She couldn't 
sense any movement on the mat, she couldn't hear him breathing or his 
clothes rustling, she couldn't even sense his energy.  It was like he'd 
just disappeared-
	"Looking for me?" came Ranma's voice from right in front of her.  
Cerl opened her eyes to see Ranma looking down at her.  She kicked at 
him out of reflex, but again, he vanished.
	She stretched out with her senses again, this time without 
closing her eyes, but could not find him.  He stopped right in front of 
her and punched her solidly in the stomach before she could react.  By 
the time she realized she'd been hit, Ranma had disappeared once more.
	Cerl sank to her knees.  She had hoped that she would at least be 
able to fight back when Ranma was at his best.  But it was apparent 
that she wasn't worth even a third of his best.  Even if she used her 
secret, she would only embarrass herself before she lost.
	Cerl stood back up.  She knew what she had to do, but it was the 
one thing she never wanted to do.  She would rather have been beaten by 
a thousand painful maneuvers that she could have _seen_ than to accept 
the fact that someone was so much higher than her that they could 
legitimately beat her without even being seen.
	She walked to the corner ropes and stepped out of the ring.
	"And Cerl Tendo has forfeited the match!" came the statement of 
obvious fact from the ringside announcer.
	"It wasn't your fault, Cerl.  Ranma-" Cologne began.
	"I know.  Ranma's skill level is much higher than mine.  After 
all, I've only just started." Cerl answered.
	Cologne watched as the girl walked back to the locker rooms, 
wiping at tears that wouldn't stop flowing.  It was hard for her, but
the honest truth was neither she nor Shampoo were up to the level of
the fighters that would be in the finals.  Cologne looked back at the
ring and wondered how well Ranma would fare, considering how sad he was
that he and Cerl wouldn't be together.
	"Ranma, are you going to be all right?" Cologne inquired as the 
pigtailed boy stepped out of the ring and returned to his usual waiting 
spot.
	"Yeah.  What about Cerl?" Ranma inquired.
	"It's best for her to get over this on her own.  She's upset, but 
Shampoo will watch her.  Do you think you can make it through the rest 
of this tournament?" Cologne asked.
	Ranma was silent for while, then answered, "Cerl wanted to win 
this tournament to help Akane.  Even if we can't... I can at least be 
her friend."
	"That's very mature of you, Ranma." Cologne told him, smiling.
	Ranma wiped tears from his own eyes and nodded, confident that 
Cerl would forgive him if he won the tournament.
	Meanwhile, Sabrina looked on with worry, "Don't you think we 
should go check on Cerl?"
	"Shampoo's down there.  She can watch Cerl.  Besides, the 
tournament isn't over and I want to see if Ranma can win." Ukyou 
answered.
	Sabrina stood up, "I'm going to go check on Cerl."
	Haruka caught the young witch's shoulder, "Do you honestly think 
they'll let a non-competitor in that area?  These places have some 
really strict rules."
	"Well, I can't just leave her alone!  Cerl's my best friend!" 
Sabrina responded, pulling away.
	Meanwhile, in the locker room, Cerl punched a training bag hard, 
sending the three hundred pound weight backwards to hit the ceiling.  
As it swung back, she stopped it with one hand.  She glared at it.
	She was powerful.  She knew that.  Strength had been her body's 
greatest asset.
	She was smart.  She knew that as well.  She got good grades in 
school and she'd been praised on her intellect many times before.
	She had skill.  Soun had acknowledged that when he'd made her the 
heir to the Tendo school and Cologne had acknowledged it as well by 
letting her join in on Ranma's training.
	Yet Ranma had rendered her completely helpless with his level of 
skill.
	It was a loss.  No big thing.  She'd lost before to other people 
and she would no doubt lose again in the future.  She wasn't 
invincible, after all, and she wasn't even near mastery.
	Why then did it hurt to lose against Ranma?
	She sat down against a wall and began crying.
	When her tears finally slowed to a stop, she wiped her eyes and 
stood up.  It had felt good to cry, even if was a bit embarrassing to 
cry over something as simple as a loss.  She just had to train harder.  
And the next time she fought Ranma, she'd try and find a way to beat 
that invisible technique that he had.
	Suddenly, a hand slapped something soft over her mouth, while a 
pair of powerful arms pinned hers to her sides.  She struggled against 
her attackers, but a hand pressed against her stomach, forcing air out 
of her lungs.  She inhaled out of reflex and the world went dark.

	Gojo Shioji worked like a man possessed.  Unlike his mentor, he 
didn't like the idea of losing a Mortal Kombat tournament to Shang 
Tsung.  Especially when that meant then it would be sixty years and two 
more tournaments before they could seal their dimension from Shao 
Khan's conquest.  Gojo didn't want to be an old man waiting on dreams 
that may never come true.
	He was working on the prototype body suit that could go unnoticed 
by the tournament's officials and yet, still boost the wearer's 
fighting capacity greatly.
	He could get it to work, but the problem was the maximum active 
time.  The greater the active time, the less likely the wearer would be 
caught in a long battle without a way to recharge it.  Which was why he 
needed to get the prototypes to the members of ACROSS.  The sooner they 
started the trial runs, the sooner he could work out all the bugs and 
flaws.  He also wanted to make sure that it couldn't be sensed.
	Lord Xenon looked on Gojo working in the laboratory and smiled.  
The man was certainly dedicated to ACROSS, there was no longer any 
doubt about it from the ferverant pace the mad scientist was working.  
He turned his attention to Toru Watanabe and Excel, the captains of the 
Male and Female divisions respectively.  He'd decided to separate the 
two genders of his forces when it came to the dormitories, so that he 
would know if any problems arose more quickly.
	Actually, it was mostly to help get a clear idea of who (namely, 
everyone) was and wasn't willing to work with who (namely, Iwata) and 
it also gave him a good reason to give Iwata very painful warnings 
about trying to peek at the girls in the bath.
	Plus, there was the bonus of getting everyone into the 
militaristic frame of mind.  If it was always casual, then when new 
members joined, it would be less and less likely that superiors would 
be acknowledged as such.
	Excel and Toru looked over their new clipboards (purchased extra 
cheap at Evil Inc's on-dimension store), which had a checklist with 
people's names on the top and various jobs on the lefthand side.  The 
checklists were identical so that members of either gender could 
consult with either of the captains on which jobs they were assigned 
to.
	"All right, let's go over the weekly plan.  Iwata will clean all 
of the toilets, organize the men's medical cabinet, then scrub the bath 
clean every day.  Toru, you, Hyatt, Sumiyoshi and Roppon will get to 
work collecting energy.  Meanwhile, Excel, Matsuya, Matsu, and I 
will check out the Evil Inc's Demo-A-Thon that they're holding this 
week to see what would be the most efficient purchases." Lord Xenon 
ordered.
	Toru and Excel checked over the various little blocks on their 
clipboards to make certain they knew who was doing what (taking extra 
glee in checking off Iwata's assignments), then raised a hand in 
salute, "HAIL, LORD XENON!"

	Back in the tournament hall, the exciting climax to the 
tournament was about to begin.
	"WHAT AN AMAZING TOURNAMENT THIS HAS BEEN!" The announcer 
declared, seething with passion, "First, Yuka pounded Orion into the 
pavement, proving that off-color comments about a woman's chest are NOT 
a good idea when you're losing badly.  Then, Elena made short work of 
Alleana, showing that it doesn't matter what sort of crap you make up, 
it doesn't help in a REAL fight!"
	"Just three more matches to go, folks, and then we crown a 
victor!" the announcer stated, now vibrating in his chair out of sheer 
excitement, "We've whittled out the fighters, taking out those that 
simply glittered and what remains is pure gold!"
	The color commentator spoke up, "Next up is Jun Kubota versus 
Ranma Saotome!  Considering Jun's lightning ability, I doubt that 
Ranma's invisibility trick will aid him very well in this bout."
	[Thanks for reminding me.] Ranma glumly noted.  It was probably 
for the best.  He didn't want to waste the Umisenken too much.
	Looking across the ring to Jun, Ranma wasn't feeling so 
confident.  With his primary master technique rendered nearly useless 
in anything but short bursts, it was down to a physical battle.  And 
Jun had the distinct advantage when it came to strength and endurance.  
Only a fast fight would be to Ranma's advantage.
	Jun smirked.  Many fast fighters saw her bulk and assumed that 
she was a slow poke.  However, many of them found out that while 
strength and endurance were her primary attributes, she was also very 
fast.
	The bell rang and ideas on strategy were lost to the roar of the 
moment.  Ranma leapt at Jun with a jumpkick and instantly regretted it 
as a malicious grin of confidence grew on Jun's face.  She turned left 
around his foot and grabbed his ankle with both hands, manipulating his 
forward momentum with her own strength in an almost cartoonish manner, 
swung him around and slammed him face first into the mat.
	Ranma coughed, doing his best not to vomit as he tried to move 
his body, his muscles having gone numb from the painful bellyflop-esque 
slam into the hard mat.  Akane was strong, but Jun's strength was 
definitely greater.  He forced himself upright and turned to face Jun, 
trying desperately to think of a way to battle her as he staggered and 
swayed back and forth drunkenly.
	He didn't get the chance as Jun swept him up in a crushing 
bearhug.  She pulsed her muscles around his chest, forcing his lungs to 
expulse air and suck it in desperately severaly times before settling 
into a solid crushing force.
	Suddenly, Ranma vanished.  Jun blinked as her arms fell inward, 
almost striking her own chest.  She glanced around and snorted 
derisively.  Obviously, the boy thought he could pull the same routine 
that he had with that less experienced girl.
	"KUBOTA THUNDER!" Jun cried, slamming her fists into the mat.
	Greenish lightning crackled around the base of the mat, flaring 
upwards until they caught Ranma and electrocuted Ranma, causing him to 
stumble and fall to the mat.
	Ranma coughed.  He was almost out of tricks.  There was only one 
left and in order for it to ensure him victory, he needed a 
distraction.  One that was desperately pathetic.  However, he had to 
resort to it in order to win as Jun approached him, a smug look of 
satisfaction on her face.
	"THAT GIRL'S RUNNING AROUND NAKED!" Ranma cried.
	Jun turned to look, then as she cursed herself for being so 
stupid as she noticed there was no naked girl, but Ranma had won his 
much-needed distraction, flaring with a powerful battle aura as he 
unleashed his best hidden technique.
	Everyone watched in confusion as Ranma appeared on the opposite 
side of Jun.  Jun's body was tilted back, as though she were looking at 
something near the stadium's lighting, parts of her clothing ripped.  
She twitched a few times, her eyes unfocused, before falling to the 
mat, completely unconscious.
	Yuka's eyes narrowed.  As one of the five people in the room who 
had actually witnessed what Ranma had done, she had to admit that she 
was impressed.  Whoever won in the next match, Elena or herself, would 
be in for a rough fight against Ranma.
	Provided he could pull that maneuver, whatever it had been, off 
again.
	The paramedics hauled Jun away to the medical room as Ranma 
staggered out of the ring, looking like he was on his last legs.
	[Well,] Yuka thought hopefully, [maybe he's too exhuasted.]
	Then, Yuka recalled who HER next opponent was.
	Her face turned a mild shade of green.  Ranma would be recovering 
his strength while she battled Elena Goldsmith, who's level of 
spiritual mastery was on par with her own.
	"Next up, Yuka Takeuchi and Elena Goldsmith!" the announcer 
declared.
	Yuka focused her mind and headed towards the ring, hoping that 
she could beat Elena.
	The color commentator spoke up, "Yuka Takeuchi is the runner up 
from the last Variable Geo tournament, and the winner from numerous 
other karate tournaments.  But, her opponent Elena Goldsmith is no 
slouch either.  She's won first place in six of Osaka's Free Form 
fighting tournaments, some of which can get quite brutal as there are 
no Ring Outs."
	Elena stood across the ring.  Yuka glanced at her playboy bunny-
esque fighting uniform and wondered, for the tenth time that night, why 
the half-american girl wore that ridiculous get up outside of the VG 
tournament.  During the Variable Geo tournaments, the fighters were 
required to be waitresses at a resturaunt and fight in their 
waitressing uniform, but while the rule was popular in VG, there was no 
such rule in the other tournaments.  Then again, she was still wearing 
her own waitressing outfit, but she had a good reason: her last dougi 
was too small.(1)
	The bell rang, and there was no more time for irrelevant 
thoughts.  Yuka blocked Elena's flying kick and unleashed a spin kick 
of her own where Elena would have landed, if the bunny girl had twisted 
out of the way.  Elena tried to sweep Yuka's feet out from underneath 
her, but Yuka backflipped out of the way.
	Yuka blocked and dodged Elena's rapid barrage of punches and 
managed a glancing round kick to Elena's stomach, forcing the bunny 
girl to retreat, but not doing any real damage.
	The two traded strikes and blocks for minutes, but the action was 
so furious that it felt like hours.  The dance of battle between the 
two fighters accomplished little, but showed that their physical skills 
were roughly equal.  Yuka's strength was less than Elena's, but Elena's 
accuracy was worse than Yuka's.
	Finally, they split apart, taking time to recover their strength.  
Both were tired, sweating and breathing hard, but both were frustrated 
that neither of them had managed to land a telling blow.
	"Well, it looks like you've improved since we last fought." Elena 
commented.
	"Yeah.  This is pretty fun.  I was worried that I wouldn't be up 
to your level." Yuka answered.
	"We're about equal physically," Elena declared, pausing to glare 
at a whistler, "so why don't we just settle this like we did last 
time?"
	Yuka groaned inwardly.  Last time they'd battled, Yuka had won 
because Elena was at war with herself and couldn't truly trust anyone, 
even herself.  However, Elena had progressed since then and was no 
longer held back by her own inner doubts.
	But still, the whole reason she was in the tournament was to test 
herself.  She hardened her resolve once again, pushing her nagging 
doubts and concerns aside as she grinned and nodded.
	"ULTIMATE RAGE CANNONS!" Elena roared, splitting her energy in a 
ring of eight large spheres around her.  Then, the spheres each began 
launching needles of flame at Yuka at rapid speed.
	"What the FU-" Yuka began to swear as she leapt out of the way.
	Elena grinned, "Like it?  I got the idea from the vulcan cannons 
shown in anime, but I modified it so that EACH of my spheres can fire 
pin-like projectiles."
	Yuka summoned her own energy attack as she noticed the flaw in 
the technique.  While each of the spheres could attack, all of they 
could do was fire in the same direction that Elena was facing and only 
a small amount.  However, Yuka knew that simply firing her Scream Devil 
Bullet at Elena would be wasteful as Elena would send all of her energy 
spheres to block the attack.
	Elena wondered what Yuka was doing jumping over her, only to 
realized too late that her technique forced her to stay in one place.  
Her mind was split between trying to dodge and trying to send the 
energy to block that failed in doing either as Yuka unleashed the 
strongest Scream Devil Bullet that she could without killing Elena.
	Elena toppled forward, her back singed from the blast.  Yuka 
slumped against the mat.  She REALLY hoped Ranma hadn't recovered that 
much.

	If there was only thing that was an almost universally orgasmic 
dream amongst anime/game fanatics, it was the idea of being surrounded 
by all of the characters that said fanatic liked and being able to 
interact with them even to a sexual level without much resistance.
	Toshi's dream was a reality.
	Unfortunately, the old adage, "Be careful for what you wish for, 
you may get it." was very true.
	Toshi's dream had turned into a nightmare.
	It wasn't that the girls were stupid.  A few weren't the 
brightest bulb in the warehouse, but they weren't ipso-facto stupid.
	They just didn't know any better.(2)
	It had been obvious, when they were first summoned/created, that 
many were confused about how things worked.  After all, set world 
perimeters prevented most of the girls from fighting games from ever 
seeing a toilet, a bath, food or anything, really.
	But while he had managed to train them in using the toilet (he 
was NOT a fetishist of that sort of thing), undressing (something 
foreign to just about every one of the girls), bathing, and eating; it 
had quickly changed from being the dream job to nanny work.
	"No, Athena, we CAN'T eat that bread because it has mold on it- 
MAI, PUT THAT DOWN!  King, please stop destroying the walls!" Toshi 
declared, doing his best to maintain control.
	Nina 1 and Nina 2 (from Breath of Fire 1 and 2), Tifa Lockheart, 
Kasumi Todo, a Dancer (Tina) and a Knight (Megan) from Final Fantasy 
Tactics, Shana and Rose entered the room with the look of determination 
in their eyes.  Well, Kasumi, Tina the Dancer and Megan the Knight 
looked more like they were simply following the others.  Toshi almost 
whimpered.
	"What are you up to?" Toshi demanded in a stern tone.
	"We're wandering around." Rose said simply.
	Shana piped up, "By the way, what's the encounter ratio around 
here?"
	"Why do you ask?" Toshi inquired.
	"We're leveling up." Nina 1 supplied.
	"And WHY do you need to level up?" Toshi asked.
	"'Cause we're on a quest.  DUH!" Tifa replied.
	"And _why_ are you on a quest?" Toshi queried, dreading the 
answer.
	"'Cause the bathroom door won't open.  And it's obvious that we 
need to go find a switch or a key in the nearest dungeon." Nina 2 
explained.
	Toshi nearly cried.  He knew exactly what was going on.
	"You don't need to level up.  Come on, I'll open the door." Toshi 
declared.
	"I guess we just needed to contact the Tutorial NPC." Tifa 
commented to Nina 2, who began jotting it down in her notebook.  Toshi 
knew about the notebook.  The RPG girls were afraid they'd be defeated 
and wind up having to replay the entire game.  After all, none of them 
could find a save point and they weren't allowed outside until they 
could operate on their own.  Toshi had given them a notebook, saying 
that so long as information was written within it, they wouldn't be 
forced to 'scroll through hours and hours' of dialogue.
	Toshi walked to the bathroom door and knocked.  The expected 
voice replied, "Yes?"
	"Yuffie, open the door." Toshi declared.
	Yuffie Kisaragi was progressing about as much as the others were, 
but she'd discovered two very interesting things.  How to lock and 
unlock doors.  Being a thief, it wasn't unusual for her to learn how to 
unlock doors, but locking had been something new for her.  She'd 
already begun using it to pull pranks on the other girls.
	For instance, Toshi now knew that doors had 500 HP, because both 
Rosa and Tifa had scanned them the last time Yuffie had gone around 
locking the doors.  Toshi had been forced to try to stop the two girls 
from bashing the doors down, but had been unsuccessful in actually 
stopping them (they wanted the EXP, after all).
	"No way!" Yuffie answered.
	"Why not, Yuffie?" Toshi asked.
	"Because....... they've... got........." Yuffie's answer was 
dragged out sufficiently that Toshi got a gist of what she was 
referring to.
	"Yuffie, if you stop locking the doors and behave from now on, 
I'll talk to Ihadurca this weekend and get her to..." Toshi paused, 
considering how to make the offer in a manner that Yuffie would 
understand, "...modify your sprite to have large breasts."
	There was silence for a few seconds, before Yuffie asked, 
"Really?"
	"Really." Toshi replied.
	The door was unlocked and the girls who'd been waiting patiently 
to enter the bathroom entered.
	Toshi turned to the female knight from Final Fantasy Tactics, 
"Megan, you and Tina come to my room tonight.  I'll boost your 
Concubine Job Points again."
	"WHOO-HOO!" Megan cheered.
	Of course, even as crazy as things got, there was always the 
consenting sex.  Once the RPG girls heard it gave good EXP, they told 
the fighting game girls that it was definitely worth their time.  The 
fighting game girls didn't understand the whole 'EXP' thing, but they 
followed the advice of their fellow roommates.
	Toshi stood just inside the doorway as the girls took their 
clothes off and began soaping each other up in the full-body fashion 
Toshi had taught them.
	Then, he noticed Storm about to try using her lightning powers on 
the TV again, (she always tried that when she couldn't find the remote) "No!  Bad Storm!"

	Ranma stood in the blue corner, trying to work off some of the 
numbness he felt from his match with Jun.  He was still hurting from 
the numerous injuries, not to mention trying to build back up his 
battle aura.  Both he and Yuka had been given ten minutes to rest while 
the paramedics hauled Elena to the medical room with the other downed 
fighters, but that still wasn't much time.
	Fortunately, from what he could tell, Yuka was pretty exhuasted, 
meaning that she might not be able to her Scream Devil thingy.  Even 
though he doubted he could use his Umisenken techniques or his current 
finishing maneuver, he could still win so long as she didn't use that 
ki blast.
	"Here it is, folks, the final bout.  Whoever wins will be 
crowned... uh, what's the name of this tournament?" the announcer 
began, before hearing the answer whispered into his ear, "will be crowd 
King (or Queen) of Tokyo!"
	The audience blinked.
	"Is that anything like how high school proms vote people 'king' 
or 'queen'?" Haruka asked.
	Michiru shrugged.  Ukyou shook her head to indicate she didn't 
know, then slapped Michiru's hand, which had been trying grope her.  
However, Ukyou wrongfully glared at Haruka.
	"I'm not so sure this match will be as flashy as some of the 
earlier ones.  Both of these fighters have exhuasted themselves and 
it's not looking like either have really have sufficient time to 
recover.  We might just see a Double K.O." the color commentator 
interupted.
	"Oh, those are myths." the announcer shot back.
	The color commentator shook his head, "No, they're not.  They're 
just very rare.  Ranma is probably tired, not to mention hurting 
awfully bad from his fight with Jun.  Meanwhile, Yuka exhuasted herself 
physically and spiritually fighting Elena.  Both of these fighters 
probably have enough for a hand-to-hand fight, and that's what's going 
to prove who's going to be the winner."
	The bell sounded.  Ranma and Yuka both warily approached each 
other.  Unlike their previous battles, neither was feeling very gung-ho 
about launching into an all-out assault from a distance.
	Once they were within three feet, they finally attacked each 
other.  Ranma's punch glanced Yuka's shoulder while Yuka's punch 
glanced Ranma's stomach.  Their next seven attacks repeated the same 
formula.
	"It would seem that their ability to dodge oncoming attack is 
causing their attacks to glance off of each other.  The question is, 
who will be able to counteract the other's ability to dodge first?" the 
announcer inquired rhetorically.
	The two fighters separated and circled the center of the ring, 
mentally calculating probable attacks and outcomes.  Ranma snapped out 
with a spinning hook kick, but Yuka ducked and launched an uppercut 
that Ranma flipped backwards to avoid.  Yuka turned and tilted her 
head, causing Ranma's reverse crescent kick to miss.  Ranma rolled out 
of the way of Yuka's double foot stomp, but missed when he tried a 
sliding sweep kick.
	Ranma growled.  Even though he could likely trounce Yuka in a 
physical fight when he was in top shape, his injuries were acting up 
and he was running out of moves.  And worse yet, his finishing 
technique was useless, even though he could probably use it right now.
	Unless...
	Yuka felt a surge of confidence rush through her as her sidekick 
solidly connected with Ranma's stomach, sending the pigtailed boy 
tumbling.  As he struggled to get up, she realized that she had won.  
There was no way Ranma could win when he was unable to dodge her 
attacks.
	However, Ranma's weakness was mostly a ruse.  As Yuka approached 
him to finish the match, Ranma launched himself forward.  Time seemed 
to slow to molasses as Ranma punched, kicked, elbowed, kneed and 
headbutted Yuka.  Finally, he appeared on the opposite side of her as 
time returned to it's normal rate.  Yuka twitched and fell to her back 
while Ranma simultaneously fell forward, his body having reached the 
point of utter exhuastion.
	"BOTH FIGHTERS ARE DOWN!" the announcer cried in shock as the 
referee began counting to ten.
	The referee counted to ten without either of the competitor doing more than futilely raising their arms in an attempt to rise.
	"Since both fighters are down for longer than a ten count, 
tournament rules state that whoever can either stand up or grab the 
bottom rope of the ring will be declared the champion!" the announcer 
declared.
	Tense seconds passed by as Ranma finally began moving, crawling 
towards the edge of the ring while Yuka rolled onto her stomach and 
began her own trek towards the edge of the ring.
	Ranma's muscles burned as he pulled himself closer and closer to 
the red rope that surrounded the bottom of the ring.  He felt a surge 
of excitement as he was within an inch of the rope.  He was so close.  
He was so close.  Then, he could apologize to Cerl...
	Ranma felt his body cut out on him and he fell limp a mere 
quarter of an inch from the bottom rope.  He could hear the roar of the 
crowd, but nothing specific.  He could hear the commentator saying 
something excitedly.
	He had to win... he had to.
	He pulled himself forward and grasped the bottom rope.  The 
crowd's roar slowly died down as Ranma's wits returned to him.
	"BOTH FIGHTERS HAD GRASPED THE BOTTOM ROPE!  IT'S A TIE!"
	Well, half the first place prize money was better than getting 
second place, Ranma thought to himself before he passed out.

	If there was one thing Dan Hibiki knew, it was that if someone 
who was tied up and unconscious was being loaded into an unmarked white 
van in an alley way behind a tournament hall, chances were that it was 
something illegal.  His sense of Justice cried out for him to 
intervene.  Besides, even if were a movie of some sort, they could just 
cut out whatever Dan interupted.  Or they might hire him on after 
seeing him being so authortive and cool.
	"You there!  What are you doing?" Dan demanded, puffing out his 
chest to make himself look more impressive.  After all, he had to know 
how to look good for when he finally defeated Sagat and avenged his 
father.
	Copycat Ken eyed the pink-dougi-wearing martial artist with 
disgust.  He motioned for Medusa to continue loading their 'cargo' as 
he turned to face the 'infamous' Dan Hibiki.
	"What's it to a no-name chump like you?" Copycat Ken asked, 
folding his arms across his chest.
	Dan twitched at being called a no-name chump, and decided to make 
his point loud and clear.  With emphasis on the "loud", "I AM DAN 
HIBIKI!  CHAMPION OF JUSTICE AND AVENGER OF MY FATHER!  YOU TWO ARE 
INDULGING IN SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES THAT I AM HERE TO INVESTIGATE!"
	Ken looked a bit worried that Dan's yelling might bring someone 
with more authority or skill to investigate, but otherwise unfazed by 
Dan's actual words.
	"I don't have time for this!  Prepare to die, loser!" Ken 
snarled, drawing his cloth and transforming into a replica of Dan.
	Dan laughed, either too confident or too stupid to be tricked, 
"HA!  YOU MAY HAVE TAKEN ON MY MIGHTY FORM, BUT YOU CAN NEVER MATCH MY 
SAIKYO STYLE!  OOSHA!  DAN DAN KICK!"
	Ken found himself actually on the defensive as Dan's monkey-on-
crack leg flailing hit him solidly in the chest.  Dan Hibiki might have 
been a two-bit buffoon, but he was a buffoon with strength behind him.
	"Medusa!  Finish loading the van quick!" Ken-Dan snapped, worried 
that he might face a second defeat as he responded to Dan's attack with 
a mirror copy of it.  Dan easily dodged the attack, then laugh 
mightily.
	"HA!  I LAUGH AT YOUR FOOLISH COPY TRICKS!  FOR I AM DAN!  AND I 
_AM_ [_MIGHTY_]!  OOSHA!  RA-RA-RA!  YAYOUZE!  AAHH!  OYAJI!" Dan 
taunted Ken-Dan mightily. (3)(4)(5)
	Ken-Dan felt his blood boil as Dan taunted him.  Copycat Ken had 
taken down over a hundred martial arts masters, as had his father and 
grandfather.  His Mirror Techniques were second to none and _NO ONE_ 
taunted him and got away with it!
	There was one trick that Ken had never tried with his magic 
shape-shifting cloth, but he was now mad enough to try it.  Twirling 
his cloth, he transformed into a replica of the Marvel Universe's Hulk.  
Dan yelped a bit, mostly because of a flash back to another green-
skinned man who'd electrocuted him during a match a few months back, 
but quickly regained his confidence.
	Obviously this was some sort of illusion!  That guy had no doubt 
been so scared of Dan's taunting that he'd inflated fake muscles in 
order to try and scare Dan into fleeing, but that wouldn't work against 
the Mighty Dan Hibiki!  It was time to teach the trickster that Might 
Made Right, and Dan Hibiki had the Might!
	"RAGING SUICIDE!" Dan roared, unleashing his ultimate technique.
	Ken-Hulk was sent flying backwards to smash through the wall next 
to the door, severely burned and in a lot of pain.  Dan, however, had 
also taken damage from his own ultimate attack and was laying on his 
back, completely unconscious.
	Ken-Hulk twirled his cloth and groaned in pain.  Dan's attack had 
broken a few ribs and dealt a lot of first and second degree burns all 
over his body, but luckily, the magic cloth had healed him.  Ken would 
be feeling the pain for as long as it would take a normal human to heal 
from such injuries, but he didn't need to visit a hospital.
	"What you doing with Cerl?" Shampoo demanded.
	"Medusa, you take her!  I'll finish loading the van!" Ken told 
Medusa, who had just finished loading their third target.  He was in no 
condition to be facing another opponent.
	"Whatever." Medusa responded, stepping out of the van to face 
Shampoo.
	"Hmph!  You underestimate woman of Jokuketsuzoku, you in for 
world of suffering." Shampoo told her opponent.
	Medusa's long red hair slithered forward and ensnared the 
surprised amazon, lifting her up into the air.  Shampoo struggled, but 
Medusa's hair had her bound like steel wires.
	"What an amateur." Medusa snorted.
	Shampoo screamed in agony as electricity coursed through her 
body.  A minute later, Medusa let the purple-haired girl drop heavily 
to the ground.  Shampoo struggled to move, but the electricity had 
rendered her completely numb.
	"What's going on here?!" Sabrina demanded as she entered the 
doorway to see Shampoo and Dan on the ground, Copycat Ken loading an 
unconscious Cerl into a white van with three other women, and Medusa 
turning towards her.
	"Dammit!" Ken cursed.  This was getting way more complicated than 
he'd planned.  What happened to the good old days, when people could 
kidnap other people without hundreds of witnesses and interlopers 
interfering?
	Sabrina summoned a spell to paralyze Ken and Medusa, but Medusa 
reacted faster, flinging her pet snake at Sabrina.  Sabrina brought her 
right arm up out of reflex and cried out in pain as the serpent sank 
it's fangs into her arm.  It pulled it's fangs out and fell to the 
ground before returning to it's mistress.
	"You can't stop me that..." Sabrina began, regathering her spell 
in her right hand, only to blink in surprise as her arm fell limply to 
her side, "...easily...?"
	Sabrina felt the venom spread quickly throughout her body, 
sending her toppling onto her back.
	"Surprised?  My snake's venom isn't deadly, but it's not harmless 
either.  It numbs the entire body and once it reaches your brain, 
you'll pass out." Medusa chuckled.
	"You... bitth-" Sabrina swore, her tongue growing numb.  She 
managed to raise her left index finger and release a tiny pink spark 
into the sky before blacking out.
	"What should we do with these three?" Medusa inquired.
	"The guy, forget.  The two girls we can add to our little 
collection.  Knock out the purple-haired one and load 'em on the truck.  
I'll check to make sure no one else is coming." Copycat Ken instructed.
	Medusa nodded.  Unbeknownst to the duo, the spark of a spell 
Sabrina had cast was making itself more well known than they expected.  
Unfortunately for Sabrina, help would arrive far too late.

=======================================================================

(1) Yuka complains at the start of the VG OAV that another workshirt 
has gotten too tight.  With that rate of growth, a karate dougi that 
she wore months prior to that would be far too tight.  Not that you 
perverts wouldn't might seeing it!
(2) This is what parents tell themselves.
(3) Dan's line (starting with "OOSHA!") are the best that I can recall 
from his actual taunts, which he performs while rolling around.
(4) The brackets around the word "[_MIGHTY_]" are the Brackets of Power
(tm) and are borrowed from ImproFanfic and it's associates.  They'll be 
wiped off and returned.
(5) Actually, the line "I AM DAN!  AND I AM [_MIGHTY_]!" is borrowed 
from Improfanfic's Ultra, where Dan becomes a minor diety temporarily.

	Explanations:
	The Kubota Thunder is not an official move, but rather, an 
impromptu one.  It's damage is significantly less than Jun's 
directional lightning-ki attack ("Thunder Crest", also not an official 
technique title.), but is enough to stun and injure opponents.
	The Umisenken is the Art of the Sneaky Thief, developed by Genma 
Saotome, under his master Happousai.  The Umisenken's moves seem like 
simple sleight-of-hand, but culminate into a fiercely defensive 
technique: Invisibility.  Unfortuantely, it's usage is limited as the 
user can only remain undetectable when not attacking, their presence 
just slipping around the notice of others.  When Ranma showed up around 
Cerl, he was detectable for a short time.  However, against an omni-
directional attack, like Jun's impromptu Kubota Thunder, the technique 
_can_ be defeated.
	Ranma's finisher is called "White With Fear".  It uses a similar 
principle of Soun's Demon Head Attack to paralyze the opponent while 
using the highest Umisenken technique to create a paralyzing field 
around the opponent, allowing Ranma to beat them with an all out 
assault.  The problem is that the opponent needs to be confident for 
the paralyzation to take effect.

	Chapter 9, Complete.

	Stay tuned!

	Next chapter:
	The Tournament ends!
	Elena, Jun, Cerl and Yuki kidnapped!
	Akane vanishes!
	Sabrina's aunts arrive and they are not _HAPPY_!


	OMAKE!
	------

	"Cerl, I need to talk with you." Ranma spoke up.
	Cerl turned her attention from the ring to Ranma, "Yeah?"
	"I'd like an answer to that question." Ranma declared.
	Cerl had an answer for him, but it wasn't one that he wanted to 
hear.  However, she didn't want to allude to the answer prior to the 
match.  But she really couldn't think of any other way to avoid the 
question.
	"Yes, Ranma, it is disturbing." Cerl told him.
	Ranma, clad in a full-body suit of pantyhose, pouted.  She 
probably hadn't even seen where he'd put the vibrator.
	"And yes, I did see where the vibrator went, you sicko." Cerl 
told him, having just developed telepathy.


	OMAKE! #2
	---------

	"Cerl, I need to talk with you." Ranma spoke up.
	Cerl turned her attention from the ring to Ranma, "Yeah?"
	"I'd like an answer to that question." Ranma declared.
	Cerl had an answer for him, but it wasn't one that he wanted to 
hear.  However, she didn't want to allude to the answer prior to the 
match.  But she really couldn't think of any other way to avoid the 
inane questions.  Ranma was almost as persistant as her last 
girlfriend/sex toy, Sayuri, had been.
	"If I was born a girl, and my curse turned me into a guy instead, 
would you have deliberated as long as you have?" Ranma inquired.
	"Shit no, you'd be my prison bitch after we got arrested for 
public indecency." Cerl told him.
	Shampoo blushed at Cerl's forwardness while Ranma giggled like a 
school girl, "Oh, you... you know just what to say..."


	OMAKE! #3
	---------

	"Cerl, I need to talk with you." Ranma spoke up.
	Cerl turned her attention from the ring to Ranma, "Yeah?"
	"I'd like an answer to that question." Ranma declared.
	Cerl had an answer for him, but it wasn't one that he wanted to 
hear.  However, she didn't want to allude to the answer prior to the 
match.  But she really couldn't think of any other way to avoid the 
question.
	Sighing mightily, she turned to Ranma, "Fine, but if those 
LARPers try to neck with me and say it's all part of the role-playing, 
I'm leaving."
	Ranma smiled a wicked grin.  At last the Malkavians would have 
the advantage!  And then HE would be Queen of Summertime... er, 
PRINCESS of Summertime.  No way was he going to try and out goth that 
Gina Diggers for the Queendom again!


	OMAKE! #4
	---------

	Cerl couldn't believe it.  She always thought that when it came 
right down to it, she could always match Ranma in a fair fight.  But, 
she sniffled and wiped a tear away from her eyes before gazing up at 
Ranma-chan waving to the crowd.
	The announcer sang, "o/~There she is, Miss Nerima District...o/~"
	"Oh, fah-ther, I'm the happiest girl in the world!" Ranma-chan 
declared with that fake accent of hers, her low cut bikini jiggling her 
overfull cleavage as she spoke.
	Cerl burst into tears.  Why hadn't SHE thought of a too-tight 
bikini top with a thong bottom?
	Of course, maybe saying that her one wish would be to kill the 
judges and sacrifice their brains to C'thulu hadn't really gone over 
too well with Nazgul judge.


	OMAKE! #5 - The Trigun Sketch
	-----------------------------

	Everyone watched in confusion as Ranma appeared on the opposite 
side of Jun.  Jun's body was tilted back, as though she were looking at 
something near the stadium's lighting, parts of her clothing ripped.  
She twitched a few times, her eyes unfocused, before falling to the 
mat, completely unconscious.
	"I warned her that I could grope her fifty-five times before she 
could even blink." Ranma sneered.


	OMAKE! #6
	---------

	Excel walked up on a darkened stage.  A spotlight illuminated her 
as she reached the middle and turned to the readers.  She bowed deeply 
and then returned to her face, a bashful look on her face.
	Excel began, "Greetings and welcome to the tail end of the ninth 
installment of Akane Revised.  We're ending a bit differently so that 
we could address some issues.  We got some very lovely letters from our 
loyal fans..."
	She motioned to A-kun, who is carefully opening a ticking package
with the look of a hawk on Ali Baba drugs or a beholder with explosive 
diahrea who's talking to an important ally that has lengthy but urgent 
news.  Take your pick.  He sighed in relief as he realized it was just a bomb.
	*KABOOM*
	Excel stared at the hole A-kun had left in the ceiling, then 
turned back to the readers, "So, ANYWAY, we want to address a few 
comments that we got."

	Subject: Japanglish versus Engrish
	Q. What's the difference?
	A. Well, in the _AUTHOR'S_ opinion, the difference is as such:
	Engrish is the faux pas created by someone who is not fluent in a 
language trying to speak in or use phrases/words from said language.  
This often sounds like Shampoo's pidgeon speak at best or Zero Wing at 
worst: "All your base are belong to us!  What you say!  You have no 
chance survive make your time!  Take off every zig!  For great 
justice!"
	Japanglish is mostly stupid insertions.  Like writing a story in 
english, but making all the dialogue french of romanji (japanese words 
spelled out with letter instead of kanji, katakana or hirogana).  
Example: Ranma stroked her long silken hair, "Watashi no Rikudo Koshi 
wa tamago pan o kudasai."  (very rough translation: I, Rikudo Koshi, do 
please give me egg.")
	As you can see, Engrish is unintentional stupidity.
	Japanglish is stupidity fused with high snobbery.

	Subject: Cerl = Mary Sue
	Mary Sue = Ridiculously over-powered, seeking to outshine every 
other character in every possible way.
	Cerl = Demi-Mary Sue.  Demi Moore fused with Mary Sue.
Demi Moore: HEY!
	Oops, sorry.
	Cerl = Demi-Mary Sue.  Demi meaing she's just meant to look 
better than ONE character.  Namely Akane.
	Given that Cerl is more intensive in her training, her physical 
abilities will climb in correlation to how hard she works for it.  
Since she's had THREE instructors (Soun, Ranma and Cologne) to help 
work on her speed, strength and endurance, it's not entirely ridiculous 
that she could grow to be fairly powerful.
	Also, if you hadn't noticed, Soun and Ranma were both holding 
back when they SPARRED with Cerl.  Cerl was working hard for those 
stalemates.  Her victory against Azusa and Mikado is attributed to the 
fact that both of them are IDIOTS.  Her victory over Ken was due to the 
fact that Ken uses a weak form of surprise psychology and Cerl was 
immune.  Please note that Dan Hibiki also defeated Copycat Ken.
	But she didn't beat Akane or Ryouga.
	Ryouga was defeated by Haruka, then killed by Ihadurca.  Cerl 
didn't manage to do very much to Ryouga other than make him mad.  The 
Akane-Cerl fight was cancelled (on account that neither fighter wanted 
to finish), so it might go down as a tie.
	But, just to show you that she's NOT, here's how Cerl might look 
if she were a Mary Sue.

	Behind Excel, a movie screen drops down and a film begins to 
play.
	[Scene: Outer Space.  Super Saiyan Broli is destroying the solar 
system.]
Super Cerl: OH NO!1!1!!!  BROLI IS DE-STORYING TEH UNIVARSE!
Ranma: [panicked[ Can't you stop him!?!?!??!???!???!
Super Cerl: [sneering] Of course, that's easy.  But I'm so powerful, I 
need to be distracted for it to be worth anything.  Quick, Ranma!  
Fukuc me up teh butt!
Ranma: [looking bashful] Well, I was kinda hoping for a second date 
before we got into that sort of stuff.  [Normal]  And why can't you say 
'Destroy', 'the', and 'universe' right?
	[Later, after Broli is dead...]
Super Cerl: Now to restory the universe!  I'll just go to Sabrina...
Sabrina: Cool!  I get to help restore the universe?
Super Cerl: [slapping Sabrina] No, you moron!  I just need something 
you have.  [opens Sabrina's magic book while Sabrina holds her face in 
stunned silence]  What?!  Your necronomicon is only 2nd Edition?  Geez, 
Sabrina, get with the times! [pulls out a 3rd Edition Nerconomicon] 
I'll have to do it all myself.
Sabrina: [staring] If you had that, why did you need my necro-wait!  I 
don't have a necronomicon!
Super Cerl: Silly Sabrina!  Didn't you know that books of unholy magic 
made with the flesh of living humans isn't dangerous in the hands of 
someone insanely powerful like me?
Sabrina: [now officially braindead] *GIGGLE* Oh, how silly of me!  
[Super Cerl flies off] Bye Super Cerl! [suddenly shudders in disgust as 
she realizes that the plot manipulated her into LIKING the Uber-
character.]
	[Later, after Super Cerl has restoryed the universe.]
Super Cerl: Now to kill God!  'Cause he and the angels don't like me!
Ranma: Oh, that makes-[double take] WHAAAAT?!  KILL GOD?!
Super Cerl: DUH!  Because I'm secretly the God of Destruction, who'll 
break free and kill all life in the universe.
Ranma: Wait, then what the-[Ranma dies trying to rationalize Super Cerl 
restoring the universe if she's actually a god of destruction.]
	[Super Cerl restores him, Miss Tendo, Miss Kuno, and every other 
mother that died in the last eighteen years back to life, restores the 
mothers back to age of eighteen and cures any medical or mental 
afflictions they had.]
Super Cerl: Silly Ranma!  Didn't you know that Gods of Destruction can 
be good?  Just look at ANIME REFERENCE: CARROT GLACE!
Ranma: But then-what about-[Ranma kills himself, but Super Cerl 
restores him to life with a Phoenix Down]

	"So you see, Cerl as a Mary Sue actually would have been much, 
much, MUCH worse than our Cerl, who's only a Demi-Mary Sue." Excel 
summarized.
	Suddenly, Cerl walked on stage with Excel.
	"Who's the Uber-character?" Cerl asked, slurping some cheap cup-
o-ramen.
	"You, as an uber-character." Excel explained.
	"Ah, that makes-" Cerl began, before doing a double take, 
"WHAAAAAAAT?!"
	Cerl turned to A-kun, a gleam that promised him the savage 
attacks she dealt Ryoga.  A-kun grinned nervously and ended the Omake 
before he could get hurt.
	*WHAP*
	"OWIE!" A-kun yelped.
	Apparently, he was a bit too slow.